|
|
|
I know that most of you do not know the story of my cat, Woo. But, for a short period...she was the most important feline in my life...the only feline in my life. And now, she has gone, left and never returned to me. So this is dedicated to her. This is her story.
Shortly after I had my daughter, I had a longing again. One that I had had since I was a child. I wanted a cat. Not just any cat...I wanted a calico. And I wasn't gonna take no for an answer. So after much pleading and griping to my husband, I went off in search for a cat. None in the ASPCA caught my attention and I had had several failures after replying to ads in the paper. I had almost given up, when I saw this little ad in the paper. All it said was "kittens-all colors". Hoping beyond hope, it took three phone calls before I managed to get ahold of these people. But they finally called me back and I eagerly rushed out to their house. It was raining and I had my daughter with me. So I get to the house and there aer kittens all over the place!
Orange tabbys, gray tabbys, solid blacks....these kittens literally shot off in all directions. But one, my precious little calico, stood there for a moment watching me. I could see the life in her eyes and I approached her. She swatted at me and ran. It took me a good twenty minutes to snag her butt...it was like she was trying to make sure I wanted her. Well I did!
When I got home, she hid for a couple of days under the playpen...she even managed to get herself stuck under the couch. But there was always one thing she had...dignity. Now, cats are known for this pride. Well, Woo must of had a whole pie made of it. She was the most dignified cat I ever have known. She would refuse to come when you called, she invited you to allow her to sit in your lap. If you tried to pet her without asking...she would give you a look and walk away. She always tried to stay up high, so she could look down on everyone.
She was a queen amoung cats. But, she enjoyed getting outside. It was a game to her...trying to figure out how to break out of the house. And eventually she had kittens. One was almost the spitting image of her, and the others were an assortment of colors. But we lost them to fleas and other incidents, and I could see that hurt her. We managed to save three and gave them to the ASPCA. But I don't think she ever forgave us for not doing enough for her kits. But there was nothing we could do really, they were too small to leave her and too young for any medicine. A part of me died everytime one of her kittens did. After this, she took more and more to roaming outside. She would be in the yard whenever we pulled up from going somewhere. And she always had the most handsomest toms around her. Which was a good and a bad thing...the queen of the street. She was the only calico on the street, so I always knew it was her. We blocked every way out we could find, but she was smart to. I never saw her play...even though I made toys for her. I would plead for her to be a kitten, but she was always a cat.
Except when it came to Kiko, my husband's dog. She would torment and tease that dog so bad. I once watched her watch the dog for almost an hour before pouncing on her. Then she was light-hearted and not all serious. Yet, she loved to comfort people. She knew when a person was hurting and would come and sit next to you. Woo would sit and not move, even if you cried into her fur...I did that sometimes. After the cry, she would shake herself and look at me. "Now that you are better, you can go about your business again. And I deserve a treat."
Her looks could day so much. And she had quite a few of them. We didnt have the money to get her fixed and she got pregnant again. But this pregnancy affected her somehow. I tried to catch her, to take her to the vet. She was getting skinny, even though she always had food at home and loved to catch birds. It hurt me so much to see her hurting. I remember the day I completely searched the house to find out where she might be getting out.
I never did find out how she did it.
But one day, I came home from work. And she was sleeping in the sock basket. I picked her up and held onto her tight. I could feel her kittens, her stomach was almost as big as her. I told her everything would be okay and that in the morning I was going to take her to the vet. She just gave me one of those looks like, "I can handle this, but I appreciate the offer."
So, I put her back down into the socks. That was the last time I saw her. When I woke up in the morning, there was blood on the socks and she was nowhere to be found. I searched the entire house and underneath it too. I searched my yard and my neighbors' yards...I called her name, i promised tuna fish. But she never came back. My sofisticated kitten was gone.
I look for her sometimes...hoping that she would turn up on my porch. Scratching, wanting to be let in. But still I can't find her. Where ever she is, I hope she is happy and with all of her kittens. I hope she has the best tuna and that there are plenty of cushins for her to sleep on. I hope she remembers how much I loved her and that I miss her very much.
I want to send a personal thank you to Lytte and Koji for the fluffy cat that they made in Woo's likeness. It makes me smile to know that I have a little part of her left. And that I will always have my memories of her.
 Naree · Fri Apr 22, 2005 @ 06:11am · 0 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
